The celebrities following in the footsteps of Yorkshire's forgotten explorer Isabella Bird

Ballou features in a new BBC Two programme paying homage to the Yorkshire explorer who was way ahead of her time. Using Isabella’s original 1873 book ‘A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains’ as inspiration for their own historic American adventure, Ruby Wax, Mel B and Emily Atack pay homage to this forgotten pioneer in a three part BBC series Trailblazers: A Rocky Mountain Road Trip. They explore the people, places and curious customs of an ever-changing America, while reflecting on the changes in Western society over the last 150 years and their own experience of womanhood. Beginning their epic journey in Cheyenne, just north of the Colorado border, Ruby, Emily and Mel immediately immerse themselves into the spirit of the Wild West.

When her journey began in 1873, Isabella Bird became known throughout Colorado as the Englishwoman who rode as well as a man, so the trio experience life in the saddle. "She was told quite quickly that she couldn’t really get away with riding side-saddle unless it was in town,” says Ballou. “And she became proficient at and it seems to help with her back problem.”

As they journey further into the mountains, Ruby, Mel and Emily visit Estes Park, a stunning valley surrounded by snow-capped peaks that Isabella described as ‘exceeding all her dreams’. They learn about Rocky Mountain Jim, a one-eyed outlaw whom Isabella met on her travels.

"No one knows exactly what their relationship was but we can speculate,” says Ballou. “One thing was for certain she never would have managed to climb to the top of Long’s Peak, in borrowed boots, if it hadn’t been for Rocky Mountain Jim.” Jim proposed to Isabella, but she turned him down. In a letter to her sister she describes him as "A man any woman might love but no sane woman would marry".

Embracing Isabella’s dive into uncharted territory, Ruby, Emily and Mel experience life deep in the wilderness, they attempt to emulate a feat Isabella achieved nearly 150 years ago – to climb one of Colorado’s famous 14,000 ft mountains.

After extensive travelling Isabella returned home and married her sister’s doctor, but not before she had travelled to Japan. After his death he left Isabella well off which allowed her to travel to India, despite being nearly 60 and not in the best of health. The Maharajah of Kashmir gave her a piece of land on which to build a hospital with 60 beds in her late husband’s name. From India she went to Persia, Kurdistan, and Turkey. In 1890, she became the first woman to be awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Two years later, she became the first woman allowed to join the Royal Geographical Society. Her final great journey took place in 1897, when she travelled up the Yangtze and Han rivers in China and Korea, respectively. "She was travelling until she was well into her late 60s,” says Ballou. “Often getting into very dangerous situations. In China she was nearly killed.” Bird after returning home from Morocco she fell ill and died at the age of 72

“Learning about Isabella Bird and what she put herself through really gives this trip meaning, everything we did whilst following in her footsteps was very humbling,” says Emily Atack.

“Isabella Bird left Yorkshire after surgery on her spine (without anaesthetic) in both physical and mental agony,” says Ruby. “She began riding on horseback 800 miles through Colorado, and then onward to many countries across the world. She never stopped moving and besides being one of the world's greatest adventurers, I believe it helped her cope with her pain. The reason I did Trailblazers: A Rocky Mountain Road Trip is because Isabella Bird is my heroine. We were tracking her 800 mile journey on horseback through the Rocky Mountains. She actually walked and travelled the equivalent of three times around the world throughout her years. She rode with only a backpack, sometimes slept in the snow and faced constant danger, either from the wild desperados or wild animals. She climbed 15,000 ft mountains and wrangled cattle throughout the state. She had no fear and yet most people have never heard about her. Hopefully now they will.”

Mel B from Leeds said when she was offered the chance to part in the programme she jumped at the chance. “What stands out for me is that firstly whilst it’s an educational show - you learn about a woman who hasn’t been put in the public domain in this century – and secondly, we are three girls from three different walks of life helping each other, figuring stuff out and having an absolute blast doing it and making really good TV. It's hectic, informational and a lot of fun.”

Trailblazers: A Rocky Mountain Road Trip starts on BBC Two on Monday at 9pm